tadepalligudem l thursday l april 25, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION Automatic cash refund if flight delayed by 3 hours or more in U.S. The White House issued new rules on Wednesday requiring airlines to provide automatic refunds in case of flight cancellations or significant delays New rules specify length of delay Consumers can insist on cash refunds President Joe Biden’s administration defined ‘a significant delay’ as one lasting at least three hours for domestic and six hours for international flights. Under current regulations, airlines decide how long a delay must last for them to issue refunds. Also, airlines must automatically issue refunds without passengers having to explicitly request them ■ ■ Airlines can still offer a seat on another flight or travel credit, but consumers can reject such offers and insist on a cash refund New rules also cover checked-in bags. Airlines must automatically refund checked-in bag fees if the bag isn’t delivered within 12 hours of the flight landing for domestic and 15-30 hours for international $43 bn The size of refunds issued by top U.S. airlines between 2020 and 2023 CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI RBI curbs on Kotak against adding online customers Attacks party over Pitroda’s remarks on inheritance tax Cong’s loot won’t stop even after you die: Modi BENN KO C H U VEED A N @ Mumbai IN a major blow to prominent private sector lender Kotak Mahindra Bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday barred it from onboarding new customers through its online portal and mobile app. It also ordered the bank to stop issuing fresh credit cards, citing “serious deficiencies” in the Mumbaibased lender’s IT risk management. RBI had earlier taken similar actions on others in the lending/payments space. However, this is by far the biggest punitive action on a large commercial bank. “These actions are necessitated based on significant concerns arising out of RBI’s IT examination of the bank for the years 2022 and 2023 and the continued failure on its part to address these concerns in a comprehensive manner. Serious deficiencies and non-compliances were observed in the areas of IT inventory management, patch and change management, user access management, data security and data leak prevention strategy,” the regulator said. E x pr e s s n e w s S e r v ic e @ Raipur/Bhopal/Bengaluru Congress leader Sam Pitroda’s faux pas on inheritance tax in the US gave Prime Minister Narendra Modi fresh ammunition on Wednesday to attack the party over its proposed wealth redistribution. Indian Overseas Congress chairman Pitroda, in an interview, said that in the US, 55% of a person’s wealth is “grabbed” by the government when he or she dies and only 45% goes to children. He called in “an interesting law”. Addressing a campaign rally in Chhattisgarh, Modi cited Pitroda’s comment and said the Congress will loot people during their lifetime and even after death. “Congress ka mantra hei Congress ki loot ‘zindagi ke saath bhi, zindagi ke baad bhi,” Modi said borrowing the Life Insurance Corporation’s famous tagline. To control the damage, the Congress distanced itself from Pitroda’s comments. Party leader Jairam Ramesh said Pitro- CM Ramesh & family `445.67 crore Total assets Congress leader Sam Pitroda said his views on inheritance has nothing to do with the Congress party. “I mentioned US inheritance tax in the US only as an example in my normal conversation on TV. Can I not mention facts?” he asked PM in AP on May 3, 4 PM Modi will campaign for candidates of the TDP, BJP, JSP alliance in AP for 2 days on May 3 and 4, BJP State V-P Vetukuri Suryanarayana Raju said 2019: L203.08 cr | 2024: L419.98 cr `340.34 crore IMMovable assets `79.64 crore `101 crore `1.87 crore `25 crore Liabilities FY 2022-23 income EIGHT ‘My own views’ MVV Satyanarayana & family Movable assets 2018: L258.20 cr | 2024: L497.60 cr `51.92 crore ROREPATI C ONTENDERS da’s comment on inheritance tax does not reflect the party’s views on the subject. “I would like to categorically state that Congress has no plan on the inheritance tax,” Ramesh said. In Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar and Betul, both reserved constituencies for tribals, Modi recalled a three decade old Congress decision in Karnataka to add all Muslim castes to the backward caste basket. “Congress has always been working at snatching the rights of SCs, STs and OBCs to bolster its vote bank,” he charged. In his sharp reposte, Kar nataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah described it as an irresponsible statement. Siddaramaiah said based on the Chinnappa Reddy Commission report, and taking consideration of the social and economic status, Muslims were brought under ‘2B’ of the OBC category in the state. “But this has been there for the last three decades. During this period, BJP in the state or Centre never questioned P7 it,” he pointed out. `4.94 crore one FIRs Left, BJP hope to prick Rahul’s ‘balloon’ C I T H A R A PA U L @ Kochi Wayanad offers an interesting paradox. It is probably the only constituency in India where one cannot see Congress flags flutter at any party convention even though its candidate is none other than Rahul Gandhi. It is also one constituency in Kerala where nobody is unsure of who the winner would be. And in this paradox lies the story of this picturesque constituency considered the “safest Con, gress seat” in the country . Clearly, bitter lessons the party learnt in 2019, when Rahul contested from Wayanad for the first time, prompted the Congress to avoid its own, as well as ally IUML’s, flags this time. That Rahul took refuge in Wayanad, where the Muslim League calls the shots, was something the BJP had gone to town with in 2019. Visuals of Rahul campaigning amid a sea of League flags went viral. And that had seriously impacted the Congress’ fortunes in north India. The Congress, hence, has been extremely careful this time. Instead of flags, it has been using balloons – in shades of saffron, green and white. It is the demography of Wayanad constituency – Muslims form 35% of population and Christians 13% – that makes it a safe bet for the Congress. Rahul had won with a margin of 4,31,770 votes in 2019, a record in Kerala. Despite the desperate efforts of the Congress to underplay the ‘Muslim connection’, the BJP has not allowed it to go unnoticed. Every top BJP leader who came to Wayanad made it a point to take a dig at Rahul for contesting from a place “where the majority is in minority”. Though there is no hype around Rahul’s candidature this time compared with 2019, ironically, it is this same factor, which the BJP has been harping on, that will help him this time as well. If there was someone who had ardently hoped that Rahul would not be contesting from Wayanad this time, it would be Annie Raja. A feisty face of the CPI – and also a close friend of Rahul – Annie was the first to hit the campaign trail. Her name was announced at a time when there was speculation that Rahul would not be contesting from Wayanad, as there was stiff opposition from the CPM and the CPI against him running against an INDIA bloc ally . However, the state Congress unit relentlessly pleaded with Rahul to contest a g ain from the same constituency Moreover, the . lack of such a sure-shot ‘safe seat’ elsewhere in the country also may have prompted Rahul to choose Wayanad yet again. Illustration: Mandar Pardikar CM concludes bus yatra, exhorts people to vote for YSRC so welfare schemes continue E x pr e s s N e w s S e r v ic e @ Vijayawada Siddham is not just an election campaign. It is a sign of selfconfidence I have to seek votes from the people for the good work I have done. We have fulfilled 99% of the promises made in 2019 Jagan Mohan Reddy, CM Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday asserted that people should vote for the YSRC for the continuation of the welfare schemes. Terming the upcoming elections as a Kurukshetra battle, he said the polls are not meant for electing the MLAs and MPs, but for continuing the peopleoriented reforms initiated by his government. Winding up his 22-day Memanta Siddham campaign in Tekkali of Srikakulam district, Jagan said, on the contrary vot, ing for TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu will only mean ending all of them for good. At the last public meeting held as part of his bus yatra, CM Jagan interacting with a girl who gifted him a portrait at Gopinagar in Srikakulam on Wednesday | Express Jagan elaborated on the plethora of welfare schemes and development works taken up by his government. He said the newly-renovated government hospitals are all set to provide quality health services while the volunteer system is ready to provide civic services at the doorsteps of citizens. “ U p g r a d e d g ove r n m e n t schools are all set to offer quality education to our children. As many as 15,002 Village and Ward Secretariats will provide services to the people in their villages,” he asserted. He said he was Siddham (ready) for the elections with the 1.35 lakh youngsters for whom he had provided jobs, and with the Grama Swaraj he had achieved through door-todoor delivery of civic services across the State. Meanwhile, Jagan is set to file his nomination in PulivenP4 dula on Thursday . INSIDE New intelligence chief & NTR police commisioner appointed | P4
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25-04-2024 of The New Indian Express-Tadepalligudem